BLOOD WORK: TOP TEN ANIMATED MOVIE VILLAINS

TOP TEN ANIMATED MOVIE VILLAINS

Upon special request this month we are breaking down our favorite villains from the animated movies we've loved throughout our lives. We are shown cartoons as kids, you know, because cartoons are for kids (I'd feel sorry for the poor two year old who is exposed to Devilman by an uninformed parent). Often these movies are classic tales of good versus evil with very little gray area... sometimes. Gaston from BEAUTY AND THE BEAST is an irredeemable douche through and through but you can kinda understand where Kabuki Mask is coming from in BIG HERO 6. You'd think children's programming would be rather simple but looking at the gamut of films you'll see that these characters are sometimes as complex as any, some even among the greatest of all cinema.

Here's our list of animated movie villains that have stuck with us over the years. Whether these are the animated badguys that we feel are the most potent or simply characters we love to hate, these animated villains effected us the most. We've included movies from when we were young impressionable minds to modern animated movies that have come out well into our adulthood. Now remember, we haven't seen every animated movie ever made so there may be a few missing (feel free to point us in the direction of other films you'd think we'd like!)

As for the parameters of this list we've excluded Japanese Anime villains (such as Lady Iboshi from Princess Mononoke, Count Magnus Lee from Vampire Hunter D, and so on) and super hero villains (such as the Joker from Batman: Mask of the Phantasm) because we could do entire lists based off of anime and super heroes themselves. No Sephiroth from Final Fantasy VII Advent Children either (technically it's CGI animated and not anime but we're lumping it in with anime anyway).

We're thinking more in the vein of children's animated movie villains. So no Loc-Nar from the 1981 HEAVY METAL movie either. Or Nekron from Ralph Bakshi's FIRE AND ICE (1983) even though that movie is only PG.

Okay, now with the parameters set, on with the list!

THE BONUSES

#15
QUEEN/WITCH

Movie: SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS (1937)

Voiced By: Lucille La Verne

We can honestly say that we don't watch this movie a whole lot, which is a huge testament to how truly frightening this character is in that she still haunts our dreams. The Queen in her Witch form is the definitive image of the "Hag Witch" in our minds and one of the scariest in film. So obviously evil too, which leads us to our next question: Why the heck would anyone take food from someone like this?! How unbelievably naive is Snow White anyway?! I know we're not supposed to judge a book by its cover but c'mon people!

Sadly to say we don't have much else to say here save that we still have nightmares about this witch.

#14
JAFAR

Movie: ALADDIN (1992)

Voiced By: Jonathan Freeman

Cunning, clever, and silver-tongued, Jafar is one of Disney's most dastardly antagonists. Possessing the age old Disney villain power of shape-shifting (interesting how changing one's shape seems to be the unifying characteristic of many of Disney's villains, no? Another subtle Disney agenda being pushed? Nah... but...), we thought Jafar was just "okay" until he gets the lamp at the end. Then he becomes a real monster. His brutal subjugation of Jasmine, his transformation in a giant cobra, and then finally his super scary red genie form made him memorable to us far beyond anything previous in the movie.

Aladdin is a fun movie, a comedy. And Jafar isn't meant to be too frightening because, well, it's a comedy (hence the ever hilarious Iago, voiced by Gilbert Gottfried, who almost always steals the spotlight from Jafar). But, man, does Jafar bring the evil at the end! He's one of our favorites because of it.

#13
CHERNABOG

Movie: FANTASIA (1940)

Voiced By: Corey Burton (in his House of Mouse appearance)

Dude, whoa... That's the freakin' fallen angel himself! And it's a Disney character too! Seeing images of Chernabog were the only reasons we wanted to watch Fantasia as kids and is still the main reason (but not the only reason) why we still like to watch Fantasia as adults. Perched atop Bald Mountain, when the sun goes down and the dark of night envelopes the earth, Chernabog rises and unleashes his demonic legions and undead hordes upon the land. The one night of the year where his power is at its strongest is none other than All Hallow's Eve. My god, we could watch a movie based solely upon this guy!

Design wise Chernabog is downright devilish to behold and it's a big reason why we think he's so awesome as a villain. Kinda reminds us of Goliath from that awesome TV series GARGOYLES.

#12
FAIRY GODMOTHER

Movie: SHREK 2 (2004)

Voiced By: Jennifer Saunders

While we love Lord Farquaad with all our black hearts, he's so delightfully obnoxious and delusional, but it is SHREK 2's Fairy Godmother that we really really hated (in a good way). She was even more delusional than Farquaad and possessed even greater power, which subsequently has made her even more insane (funny how delusions and power go hand in hand like that, no?). Jennifer Saunders does such a great job of bringing this tyrannical manipulative witch to life. And thanks to some truly great moments in the animation where her eyes practically bug out, her insanity really shines through at the end.

We've long preferred the second Shrek to the first and the truly evil Fairy Godmother is one of those reasons why.

#11
MAD MADAM MIM

Movie: THE SWORD IN THE STONE (1963)

Voiced By: Martha Wentworth

Talk about making a case for evil being more fun, the magnificent marvelously mad Madam Mim sure makes being bad look appealing. And maybe that's the most insidious aspect of her character. Merlin is nothing but logic, math, adhering to the rules, and his imagination is limited to the natural world. Madam Mim is exciting, imaginative, and unpredictable. Wow, sounds like we almost admire the evil witch. In some ways we do. It makes us wonder what 1963 Disney was trying to say here to the youth of America, maybe that fantasy and imagination are works of the devil!

Seriously, take a look at Madam Mim again and see for yourself exactly what Disney was telling us were works of evil.

Madam Mim, we salute you!

THE TOP TEN

#10
SCAR

Movie: THE LION KING (1994)

Voiced By: Jeremy Irons

"I killed Mufasa!"

Still get chills when we hear it. Not gonna lie, Jeremy Irons' awesome performance is a huge reason why Scar in on the list. He's so malicious, devoid of compassion, and completely homicidal (whether it's his brother or nephew, adult or child! Man, that's cold). All because of a sense of entitlement, wounded pride, and seething jealousy. When highlighted with green smoke Scar looks downright evil. And he is. And the story is a classic blending elements of Cain and Abel, the Prodigal Son, and... whatever biblical story it was where an heir to the throne finally accepts his responsibilities. What we're trying to say is that the story is so timeless (don't believe us? Rewatch Black Panther after watching Lion King. Do you see it?).

Anyway, Scar's villainy is grounded in very real human emotions (funny he's an animal yet more human than most of the human characters on this list, no?) which makes it all the more frightening and his evil all the more relatable. We all have a Scar upon us or inside us, don't we?

#9
HEXXUS

Movie: FERNGULLY ~ THE LAST RAINFOREST (1992)

Voiced By: Tim Curry

"Sigh" finally somebody who isn't Disney!

Hexxus is the embodiment of pollution and destruction, basically a pure dark entity without a single redeeming characteristic. He's the dangers of industry and the destruction of nature. Hexxus represents something very real and relevant in today's world, something a little more closer to home and relatable. What greater modern villain is there? We here tend to lean more towards the fantastic and paranormal in our preferences, but thanks to the wonderfully delightful voice of Tim Curry and one wicked design, Hexxus earns a spot on our list of favorites!

Pollution is BAD, kids. Remember that.

#8
THE BELDAM (OTHER MOTHER)

Movie: CORALINE (2009)

Voiced By: Teri Hatcher

You want to talk about a character right out of a horror movie, I pose the challenge to find a single little kid that wasn't given nightmares by this character. As far as sheer frightening imagery, the Beldam is hands down the scariest animated movie villain of all time. When she looked mostly normal with buttons sewn into her eyes she was scary. When she goes full-on monster she's launched into a category all her own! Coraline is a creepy and fun film in general (one of our favorites!) and deserves our respect being an engaging kids movie even to adults and I daresay some adults were given nightmares by the Beldam too!

#7
RATTLESNAKE JAKE

Movie: RANGO (2011)

Voiced By: Bill Nighy

Yeah, maybe Bill Nighy plays a villain a little too often, but it's hard to deny how good he is at it. One of our favorite villains of his (and the newest film featured on this list) is Rattlesnake Jake from RANGO. Inspired by one of our favorite actors, the amazing LEE VAN CLEEF, this snake is one helluva scary and formidable opponent for the eponymous hero. Frightening in appearance and voice and nearly invincible, Rattlesnake Jake also captures that anti-hero spaghetti western persona as well, which so happens to be incredibly cool in our eyes. We were stoked to discover at the end of the movie that he is not defeated and actually forms a truce with our hero.

How many animated villains have done that?

#6
MALEFICENT

Movie: SLEEPING BEAUTY (1959)

Voiced By: Eleanor Audley

Perhaps Disney's most iconic image of evil (debatable) is none other than Maleficent. When we were kids the main reason we wanted to see Sleeping Beauty at all was for the scary black dragon! Seriously, there was no other reason. It's funny, it seems like for a majority of the classic Disney films that the villains were more often the most intriguing characters in the movies. Far more interesting at least which is exactly what Maleficent was. She's easily the most interesting character in the whole movie, made even more interesting in the 2014 feature film, MALEFICENT (a source of controversy for purests, we know). While we love the pure evil incarnation of Maleficent, we really enjoyed the alternate perspective of the 2014 movie.

To be clear, the version of the character we've included here is specifically the 1959 version. She's so scary and powerful, the perfect image of the dark queen.

#5
URSULA

Movie: THE LITTLE MERMAID (1989)

Voiced By: Pat Caroll

Ahh yes, another evil queen of Disney's. What can we say about this evil queen/witch that we haven't already said about the five others on this list. Shape-shifter? Check. Magic user? Check. Preys upon the gullibility and desires of younger females? Check. Sooo... why her?

The tentacles. It's the friggin' tentacles. Nothing says evil like like tentacles. Just ask the Japanese.

Ursula personifies that darkness of the sea. Her garden of "unfortunate souls" is disgustingly evil. And she has a demented glee about her that makes her fun to watch, more so than the straight forward no-nonsense personalities of Maleficent and the Queen from Snow White. Her tentacles have a Cthulhu vibe going which we dig. And when she grows to kaiju size at the end she's a mix of Cthulhu and the Kraken (which is awesome!). They take her out with a page from JAWS: THE REVENGE too which is pretty epic (one of many Jaws reference in the movie). But most importantly to us here at Blood Work is the big distinction between Ursula and the others. While the others shape-shift into monsters, Ursula is an actual monster who shape-shifts to look normal.

Gotta support monster solidarity, y'all.

#4
OOGIE BOOGIE

Movie: THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS (1993)

Voiced By: Ken Page

"I am the shadow on the moon at night, filling your dreams to the brim with fright."

Oogie Boogie's credo which he fulfills to a "T"

The boogie man is the name given to the unnameable thing that scares us in the dark, the personification of children's greatest fears at night. That's who Oogie Boogie is, someone who revels in our fear and torture. When we first see him in the movie it is a fleeting but frightening shadow. Next he's a horrible voice rising up through the dark pipes. Then we see his black eyes, the dark void of his mouth, and the scary glow of his stitched body. He's composed of bugs and snakes, all the creepy crawly creatures that give us the shivers. And he sings too. Although not in the movie very much, Oogie made a great antithesis to the heroic Jack Skelington. His delight in hurting others, stringing out the pain as long as possible, made him a greater villain to hate.

#3
SHARPTOOTH

Movie: THE LAND BEFORE TIME (1988)

Voiced By: Frank Welker

Sharptooth is the children's version of the shark in JAWS. Seriously. He has the same presence and persona as the shark, constantly searching for his next meal, constantly snapping his monstrous jaws at our heels. But going back to what we were suggesting way above, Sharptooth fits into the niche section of badguys who aren't really badguys. Yeah, he's a badguy (and a really potent one at that) but is he being truly malevolent or is he just trying to survive like all the other characters? Is it heresy to suggest that Sharptooth is as much a victim as Littlefoot and the gang? While his persona is certainly unsympathetic, he himself as a living creature certainly possesses some sympathy (truthfully we may be saying this because our favorite dinosaur is the Tyrannosaurus Rex). And of course it is the wonderful Frank Welker who voices him (MEGATRON himself!)

The scene where Sharptooth battles Littlefoot's mother is so incredible, wonderfully shot and choreographed. Likewise the final battle with Sharptooth is equally exciting, especially when Petrie dive bombs him to save his friends. Coupled with James Horner's incredible score! GAH!! This movie still hits us right in the feels.

#2
BUMBLE

Movie: RUDOPLH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER (1964)

Voiced By: Pinto Colvig

Hey, television movies count too! How could we not include the Abominable Snow Monster of the North?! Easily our favorite part of Rudolph, Bumble is surprisingly one of the best film representations of a Yeti ever capture on celluloid (just goes to show you how few cinema yetis there are, much to our great dismay). Bumble, like Sharptooth, isn't inherently evil. He's just trying to survive in a cold, harsh, and unforgiving climate. He's a classic example of the "misunderstood" monster. He's also a great example of how, through forgiveness and understanding, your enemies could become your friends (just like Goku learned with Vegeta in DRAGON BALL Z! Yes, Vegeta and Bumble are exactly alike...).

We love that Bumble becomes a goodguy at the end, we don't feel so bad about how much we love him now that we really know he's a good monster at heart (or maybe he was forced into submission through the violent removal of his teeth and the savage beating from Yukon Cornelius that broke his spirit and forced him into slavery at Santa's workshop... ugg... that's a grim thought... we ask you, who are the real villains here?)

#1
OMMADON

Movie: THE FLIGHT OF DRAGONS (1982)

Voiced By: James Earl Jones

Again from the team of Arthur Rankin Jr. and Jules Bass comes the evil red wizard, Ommadon, from one of our absolute favorite films growing up. Ommadon is the master of black magic and the ruler of the Devil's Domain. While his three brothers are generally good guys, Ommadon is an irredeemable force of evil. There is nothing sympathetic at all about his character, which makes him so incredibly potent. Voiced by Darth 'freakin' Vadar himself (fresh off of his other villainous role as Thulsa Doom from CONAN), James Earl Jones brings so much evil and power to Ommadon that very few other animated villains compare (in our over-inflated opinion of course). When Ommadon shows off the full measure of his powers at the end, sprouting seven dragon heads out of his body, he is perhaps the most impressive and scariest animated villain in history (we think so, anyway).

Also worthy of note are the other animated film villains from Arthur Rankin Jr. and Jules Bass such as King Haggard from THE LAST UNICORN (voiced by the legendary Christopher Lee) and Smaug from THE HOBBIT (voiced by Richard Boone, Paladin himself!). Wait a minute... why the heck aren't Smaug and King Haggard on this list anyway?

And there you have it! Our favorite animated movie villains!

Did we miss some good ones? Let us know!

And let us know your favorite animated movie villains!